Immune response pattern varies with the natural history of chronic hepatitis B

Figure 4 Global-T cell cytokine production in different clinical phases. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stimulated by phorbol myristate acetate and ionomycin. A: Representative dot plots depicting the expression of IFN-γ, IL-2 and TNF-α in global CD3+ T cells; B: Cumulative data showing the frequency of global CD3+ T cells expressing IFN-γ, IL-2 and TNF-α in healthy donors and patients in different clinical phases. IFN-γ: Interferon-gamma; TNF-α: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha; HD: Healthy donors; IT: Immune tolerant; IA: Immune active; IC: Inactive carrier; ENEG: Hepatitis B envelope antigen-negative hepatitis. All data are presented as mean ± SD, ^aP < 0.05, ^bP < 0.01, ^cP < 0.001.